Not all Cubs clear on new plate collisions rule

Catcher Whiteside, ex-Giants teammate of Posey, concerned about gray area with umpires' discretion

February 25, 2014|By Mark Gonzales, Chicago Tribune reporter

MESA, Ariz. — Eli Whiteside understands as well as anyone why Major League Baseball is changing the rules governing collisions at home plate.

But he's not sure how those changes will be enforced and what they'll mean for him and his fellow Cubs catchers.

"We tried to work on it a little bit out there, but we didn't really know what to do," Whiteside said Monday before MLB announced the rule changes.

Under the new guidelines, umpires may call a runner safe if a catcher blocks the plate without possession of the ball, and a runner can be called out if he deviates from his path to home plate in order to initiate contact with the catcher or another player covering home plate.

Whiteside, 34, who has played at least parts of five seasons with the Orioles and Giants, said he and the other Cubs catchers prepared for the rule change by working on sweep tags at home plate.

"But it's kind of a gray area," Whiteside said. "It's tough to hold your ground and play the ball at the same time, especially balls coming from different angles in the outfield. We've messed around with it a little bit. It's going to be tough. Some part is going to be up to the umpire's discretion.''

Whiteside played in a career-high 82 games with the Giants in 2011, and much of that occurred after teammate and National League most valuable player Buster Posey suffered a fractured fibula and torn ligaments in his left leg on May 25, sidelining him for the rest of the season.

'It was tough, especially they kept replaying it and replaying it (on television)," Whiteside recalled. "You don't want to see anyone get hurt, especially your teammate. ... (But) it was part of the game, and people get hurt all the time."

Whiteside realizes there's more than just trying to make a play without blocking the plate — especially if there's a play at the plate following a hit to the outfield.

"You've got to play the ball, especially with the hitter/runner," Whiteside said. "You've got to keep the ball in front of you so the guy doesn't advance on the throw."

MLB will distribute materials to teams and meet with players to explain the changes.

"We've already had a lot of questions for (catching coach Mike Borzello), and he doesn't know what to tell us," Whiteside said. "So we'll have questions" for the league.